State Court Ruling Allows AQMD to Continue Issuing Air Quality Permits

A state superior court judge has ruled in favor of the South Coast Air Quality Management District in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups that would have blocked the construction or expansion of thousands of small businesses and public facilities in the Southland.

 “This decision will allow businesses and public facilities to continue receiving permits when they expand or modernize using the latest air pollution control equipment,” said Barry Wallerstein, Executive Officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the defendant in the lawsuit.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant decided that the plaintiffs, including the environmental group Communities for a Better Environment, California Communities Against Toxics, and Coalition for a Safe Environment did not have a valid legal basis for their lawsuit.

Plaintiffs brought the lawsuit in December 2009 in an effort to derail SB 827 (Wright) and AB 1318 (M. Perez), which directed AQMD starting on Jan. 1, 2010 to issue some 1,200 air permits that had been frozen by a 2008 state court decision. The 2008 decision had resulted in a one-year moratorium on AQMD issuing permits to small businesses and public facilities, which in turn created a significant negative impact on the region’s economy and jobs.

New Source Review
At issue in this decision and the prior state court action is the availability of emission offsets, which new or modified facilities must provide whenever they increase emissions.  State and federal law requires emissions offsets under new source review programs to prevent further deterioration of air quality in already polluted areas.  Offsets are generated when a facility permanently shuts down or when a plant controls its emissions to a greater extent than required by air quality laws.

AQMD provides offsets from its internal bank at no cost to small businesses and public facilities such as police and fire stations, landfills, water treatment plants and sewage plants. In November 2008 a state court decision prevented AQMD from issuing offsets from its internal bank. The ruling effectively placed a moratorium on air quality permitting in the Southland and forced businesses and public utilities to delay plans to expand or modernize.  SB 827 lifted the moratorium allowing AQMD to resume issuing emission offsets at no charge to small businesses and public service facilities.

AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Source: South Coast Air Quality Management District
July 15, 2010

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